Kristen Stewart, designing the female gaze

By Romane Edinger

In 2009, at just 18, Kristen Stewart’s popularity exploded when she played Bella Swan in Twilight. This saga became both an international generational phenomenon and criticized for disseminating the image of the passive woman, subject to the fantasies of men (those of vampire Edward and werewolf Jacob). After this success, the actress took a radical turn, and she is now a feminist and lesbian figure, determined to shake up the representation of women in cinema. Using film clips, archive footage and interviews, the documentary will trace her career and the evolution of gender studies in cinema and pop culture. Who better than Kristen Stewart to understand the revolution of the last decade? What happened between 2009 and 2024 to move from a heroine shaped by the male gaze to a woman in control of her own desire?